B.s. Detector

The B.s. detector is a diagnostic tool designed to simultaneously identify the presence of several pathogens within a blood or fluid sample through the detection of specific sequences within genomic DNA. At the core of our device lies the gram positive - and eponymous - bacteria B. subtilis which has been genetically modified to harbour two specific operons (a cluster of genes intended to be activated together) of our own design working in tandem. The first operon consists of the lacZ gene along with an operator gene which is necessary for the function of lacZ.lacZ, when operational, is designed to produce a blue pigment (5,5'-dibromo-4,4'-dichloro-indigo) in the presence of the organic compound X-gal. The second operon consists of a repressor gene designed to inhibit the function of the first operon. This gene is surrounded by two flanking sequences on the 5' and 3' ends. These flanking regions play a crucial role in the diagnostic mechanism of our device.

3D Device Animation using Autodesk Maya (Click here if video isn't working)